WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
🚨 Dan Bongino may leave the FBI. Sources told Fox News that Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino will decide about his future at the bureau within the next few weeks. Bongino's tenure has reportedly faced heated criticism from active-duty and retired FBI personnel in a recent internal report.
🤝 Erika Kirk met with Candace Owens. Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk held a private, in-person discussion with right-wing commentator Candace Owens after weeks of Candace promoting wild conspiracy theories about Charlie Kirk's murder. Afterwards, Candace remarked that their meeting was “extremely productive” and they “agreed much more” than she anticipated.
🇨🇱 Chile elected a right-wing leader. Conservative, pro-Trump former lawmaker José Antonio Kast won 58.2 percent of the vote, defeating communist candidate Jeannette Jara. Kast pledged to crack down on crime, deport hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants, and revive Chile's economy, marking the country's first hard-right president since 1990.
🚔 Nick Reiner arrested in parents' deaths. Nick Reiner, 32, has been arrested in connection with the deaths of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife Michele, 68, who were found with lacerations consistent with knife wounds in their Brentwood home. Nick's bail was set at $4 million.
INSIDER RADAR
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) stated that Florida has the right to regulate AI despite President Trump's executive order seeking national standards.
Actress Jenny McCarthy said that Charlie Kirk's assassination deepened her Christian faith and led her to complete surrender to God.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) called it ”wrong” for President Trump to reclassify marijuana.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) railed against “mass migration from places that are known to have radical Islamic movements that hate Americans, especially Jewish Americans.”
HOAX TRACKER
Ilhan Omar claims Australia’s gun laws prevent mass shootings
Progressive Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) praised Australia’s strict gun control after the deadly Hanukkah terror attack, but the massacre happened despite decades of sweeping gun bans, proving that terrorists will manage to acquire guns in spite of bans.
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QUICK AND IMPORTANT
The Trump administration ended temporary protected status for 5,000 Ethiopians, giving them 60 days to leave the country.
Brown University College Republicans Vice President Ella Cook was killed in Saturday's campus shooting along with student Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov.
The two American soldiers killed by ISIS in Syria were identified as Iowa National Guardsmen.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent ended Biden-era coin designs that focused on DEI themes instead of the Founding Fathers.
The most clicked link in our last newsletter was the German police stopping a Christmas market attack plot.
INSIDER EXCLUSIVE
Trump’s latest move to ensure American AI dominance
Artificial intelligence (AI) is today’s space race, and for good reason — it’s tied directly to military superiority…
ASK THE EDITORS
Where are Trump administration leaks coming from?
Q: Regarding the leaks from Steve Witkoff’s negotiations, where are the leaks originating from? Also, isn’t it normal for private conversations/negotiations to occur? This ultimately sounds like a whole bunch of talk over nothing, except that someone is undermining the administration by leaking info. — Catron E.
A: Unfortunately, the only people who know for sure where the leaks are coming from are the leakers and the journalists reporting (and in some cases, the latter may not even know). But they’re likely coming from European governments, which are aware of the negotiations' content and are unhappy with the direction the Trump administration is taking.
You’re absolutely right; it is normal for private negotiations to occur. Some of our greatest statesmen engaged in private negotiations, from President Franklin Roosevelt sneaking away to meet with Winston Churchill to Henry Kissinger secretly being ferried around Paris to meet with the North Vietnamese.
If Witkoff were secretly meeting with the Ukrainians to get them a better deal, the same people critiquing him for secrecy would likely be lauding him.
— Anthony Constantini, Foreign Affairs Editor
Have a question for us? Upgrade to submit a letter to the editor or request a topic to be covered.
THE MAIN STORY
FBI takes down radical leftist militants
_WHAT’S HAPPENING_
Last Friday, the FBI arrested four members of a far-left extremist group, the Turtle Island Liberation Front (TILF), for allegedly plotting a series of bombings across Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve. The suspects were apprehended in the Mojave Desert as they prepared to test improvised explosive devices.
Attorney General Pam Bondi described the group as pro-Palestinian, anti-government, and anti-capitalist. The four individuals are now facing multiple federal charges.
_THE FACTS_
The group planned to detonate pipe bombs simultaneously at midnight on New Year's Eve at two locations in Los Angeles.
The suspects brought potassium nitrate, PVC pipes, charcoal, sulfur powder, and other bomb-making materials to their desert campsite.
The group's social media accounts featured posts stating "Death to America" and "peaceful protest will never be enough."
One member created an eight-page bombing manual titled "Operation Midnight Sun" and shared it with an FBI informant.
The suspects also planned follow-up attacks targeting ICE agents and vehicles.
FBI surveillance footage captured the defendants unloading bomb materials and constructing a tent in the desert.
The four suspects operate under the name "Order of the Black Lotus," a radical faction of the larger group.
The suspects, ranging from 24 to 41 years old, face federal charges of conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device.
TILF's X account has only around 1,000 followers and is openly communist.
_OUR INSIGHTS _
Despite TILF's small following, its radical members could have caused significant damage and murdered innocents. This mirrors the domestic terror landscape of the 1960s and 1970s, when groups like the Weather Underground and the Symbionese Liberation Army carried out bombings and kidnappings despite their limited membership.
History shows that underestimating such groups can be fatal. The FBI's successful intervention here prevented what could have been a dramatic increase in that era's violence.
_JOIN THE DISCUSSION_
How big a threat do you consider far-left terrorism to be?
BIAS SPOTTER
How left and right outlets frame the FBI taking down far-left militants
_LEFT_
Trump’s executive order: The New York Times connected the arrests to Trump's order labeling Antifa a terrorist group, noting the investigation began under that directive. The New York Times
Property targets: MS NOW described the alleged targets as "Amazon-type logistics centers" rather than populated areas, suggesting a focus on property damage over casualties. MS NOW
_RIGHT_
ICE targeting confirmed: RedState noted the group's plans extended beyond bombings to include targeting "ICE agents and vehicles with pipe bombs beginning in January or February 2026." RedState
Evidence of organized terror: The New York Post detailed how suspects used encrypted chats, burner phones, and disguises, describing a sophisticated domestic terror network. The New York Post
_THE DAILY DEBATE_
POLLS RESULTS FROM YESTERDAY
What do you think is driving the rise in anti-Jewish terror attacks?
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ 🗣️ Antisemitism becoming normalized (465)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 ☪️ Islamic extremism (600)
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ 🇵🇸 The Pro-Palestine movement (407)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 💬 Other (Comment) (140)
🗣️ Antisemitism becoming normalized: “Dehumanization is always the first step toward genocide.” — TS
☪️ Islamic extremism: “Everything that is done against Jews is justified by appeals to Islamic ‘sacred texts.’” — James
🇵🇸 The pro-Palestine movement: “The world allowed protests in the name of the pro-Palestine movement, just as it did with BLM. Violence was accepted around the world when it was against Jews, and now it is just supposed to stop.” — Pat
_WE WANT YOUR QUESTIONS_
Have a question you want somebody on the team to answer? Upgrade here to send it in, and it may be featured in the newsletter.
_POP QUIZ_
What did Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent end?
Today’s newsletter was written by Brandon Goldman, Anthony Constantini, and Ariel David. We scoured 100s of sources to bring you stories and insights you won’t find in the mainstream media.
See you tomorrow.
